Swine

Came here with a group of ladies for some good eats. We wanted somewhere fairly convenient and quiet so we could all catch up. Luckily this place came up in conversation and there were reservations available on open table as well — Score!
Swine is in the west village. This is a split level restaurant– 1 floor with a bar and smaller bar tables where the ambiance is dark and intimate; bathrooms are located here too. The other floor has larger tables for bigger groups and more lighting. There is also a small patio area that is open in the warmer months. I have only eaten on the bottom floor in the past.
The menu has a lot of pork options, mac and cheese, a few veggie sides, and cheese/​meat boar offerings. Whenever I’ve come here someone always raves about the bone marrow burger and the bacon/​Brussel sprout side. I normally get a few things to share with other people at my table — generally a few appetizers (ie pork belly and nachos), some entrees (pork shank and short ribs) and usually a couple of the specials. Food is good, but not super amazing where you want to tell everyone how spectacular it is. It’s good though, don’t be fooled.
I like the big drink menu they have. There is a decent selection of spirits and wines by the glass as well as wine bottles. There are also a number of house cocktails that sound oh so yummy. There is also happy hour until 7:30 that many in my most recent group got to try before we sat down to dinner.

My son and I came here a couple nights ago to celebrate my birthday. Originally, I was going to have a hamburger, but ended up getting a «slow roasted pork shank» instead. He ordered the famous marrow and brisket burger with potatoes. I really liked both dishes. The pork on my shank was very well seasoned and fall-​apart tender. The portions are very generous and filling. The shank, which includes roasted apples, green beans, butternut purée, yuca brûlée in small portions, was plenty of food, and if I had been smarter I would have taken about half of it home for use as a sandwich the next day (vs. stuffing myself). Comparing it with the marrow and brisket burger my son had, I would say I slightly preferred the burger. No bad choices, though.
The Swine has a full selection of alcohol. We both had beers, with mine not being too memorable, whatever it was. My son got an Omegong that was great. You can find something you will like to drink here, that is for sure.
We didn’t have the capacity to go for dessert.
The atmosphere is very nice here, with classic rock as well as newer music. The age of the classic rock was surprising given the nominally youthful looking (to me) clientele. I’m 61 and am always pleased when I can hear music that is recognizable to me. It was the eve of «Snowmageddon» when I was here, so it was cold and we ate inside. I don’t know what the outside dining in the summer is like. The inside is comfortable in that rock and roll bar sort of way. It is dark and has music as well as the noise of a lot of people talking. If you are looking for quiet and romantic, you should pick somewhere else.
I really liked swine and suggest that if you are in the mood for a nice heavy meat dinner chased down by some beer, go for it.

No complaints here ! This place was great. Food was amazing, staff was friendly, drinks were great! We got basically one of every app and bar snacks. Tar tar tacos and Maple wrapped dates were my favorite. They are a must! Also, pulled pork sliders were great. We got the lava cake for dessert and it was also delicious. If you’re in the area, you have to check it out!

Amazing meal, awesome drinks, great vibe. This is a west village standout! We went for dinner but I would definitely hang here for drinks.
Ambiance: trendy, fun vibe. The bar was busy, tables were cozy. The whole atmosphere was well designed and fun.
Appetizers: we tried a lot:
— Tuna Tar-​tacos: outstanding. Great textures and flavor.
— bacon wrapped dates: incredible. Maybe my favorite dish of the nite. Must get.
— potato chip nachos: exactly what it sounds like. Really great, shareable.
Main:
— I had the brisket and bone marrow burger. Juicy, delicious. Definitely worth the indulgence.
Cocktails:
— gypsy on tinder: complex, sweet, well made. Server recommended it and I had two.
Ps super clean bathroom. Will definitely be back.

Visited Swine for the second time this weekend and now have very mixed feelings about the place.
My first visit was pleasant and adorable; came during the summer and sat outside with a glass of wine and loved it!
But my most recent visit wasn’t as pleasant, and I chalk that up to the interior décor/​ambiance. While the outside area is adorable, the inside of Swine is actually kind of grungy — which is fine, but not what I was expecting after that first visit.
So if you’re in the mood for a down and dirty drink with friends, sure, Swine is fun. But if you’re looking for something a bit more refined, I wouldn’t recommend.

After what happened, I was surprised when Cris (the owner) reached out to apologize and offer a comp for that night. I didn’t expect that a restaurant with so many high ratings would care much about one bad experience. I appreciate that he took the effort to address it and I am sure that night was not indicative of the quality of service that they hold themselves to!

Went for brunch. Cool atmosphere. Tasty food (I got the Grand Swine). Friendly staff. Only complaints: 1) Boyfriend’s coffee cost $ 5 and wasn’t worth it. 2) Felt like we were being held hostage until we got our waitress’s attention and asked for the check.
Would recommend otherwise.

Surprisingly good food in this divey bar type atmosphere! Came to Swine on a Thursday they had availability for two. The bar was filled and had a great vibe. We started with the market salad which was delicious, then the sea bass and the short ribs served with smoked cauliflower grits and truffle oil. Yummmmmmm the meat literally fell off the bone. The sea bass was also cooked perfectly. I would come back to try the burger and have a beer at the bar for sure!

Very solid, no fuss bar/​restaurant. Came in for last drink of the night with a few friends. We showed up right before last call but the bartenders were really friendly and there was no rush at all.
Has a cool/​comfortable atmosphere. Not trying too hard or hitting you over the head with any particular theme, just a chill spot with really good drinks and music selection. They also have a nice booth area in the back thats perfect for a group of 6 – 8. Plus free pinball.
Drinks are decently priced and tasty. They’ve got some flair without being too pretentious. If you like spicy, their Jalapeño tequila cocktail has a kick without being overwhelming. They also have a good selection of beers on tap.
A great spot to wind down the night with some good drinks and relaxed vibe.

Great random pick for dinner on a Saturday night! Given its good reviews, I am glad to say that it met up to my expectations. The restaurant is super cute and cozy with a bottom and top floor, giving off a kind of rustic vibe to it. Service was super nice!
Appetizers:
We started off with the Potato Nachos. It basically combined two of my favorite things: potato chips and nacho toppings! First, the potato chips were super crunchy. It was a great vehicle to pick up that pork belly and fondue cheese. The fondue cheese was full of melty goodness. It had a great sharp, distinctive flavor to it, really sticking out when taking a bite into the chip. The pork belly was well cooked, soft with a relative chew to the bite. It was a bit more mild that I would expected in taste though. They could definitely afford to add a bit more punch to the pork belly such as some additional seasoning. There were also some not-​so-​spicy jalapenos in there. Overall, a great start regardless.
Entrees:
We got the dinner special of the night, the pork shank and man oh man they should make that a permanent fixture in the restaurant. At first glance it looked amazing! We asked the waitress what that was when it was being brought to other tables because just on looks alone, it was mouth-​watering. It tasted just as good as it tasted. Super moist, all the meat fell right off the bone. Super tender and it paired PERFECTLY with the apples, green beans and this sweet potato mash. Typically I hate hate hate sweet with savory foods but this was amazing. It was a perfect balance of sweet and savory. The tart apples with the sweet potato mash mixed in with the pork was 5 stars. I couldn’t get over how much I actually liked the sweet components.
We also got the braised short rib and just like the pork shank, the meat was super tender, easy to pull apart and share. The cauliflower grits were even better. Again, another perfect pairing. The grits were super creamy and full of cheesy flavor. I didn’t really notice the truffle oil however but I was still blown away.
With both entrees being an average of $ 25 each, totally worth it. I really had a delicious meal and I would be more than happy to try some of their other dishes.

There are times where you might have the energy to wait 2.5 hours for a table at Spotted Pig. And then there are times were you don’t. We opted for Swine tonight, and our party of 5 waited around 30 minutes for a table on a Friday night around 8:30 pm. The good thing is they take your number, so you can roam around and see the beautiful sights of West Village: P We were rewarded for our patience with a booth downstairs that was cozy, drinks that were artful, and an excellent meal! Definitely recommend this place as a nice yet chill ambiance for catching up with the ones you love.
It’s really rare that you get a piece of salmon that is cooked so perfectly. Not a hint of dryness, seasoning was on point, and a very satisfying portion.
Cod was excellent. The flavorful sear was to die for.
Bone marrow and brisket burger was top notch! Even the side potatoes were excellent. Definitely a win.
We will be back! Cannot wait to go back and try more of the small plates.

That Bone Marrow and Brisket Burger though…
It was just as delicious as it sounds and pretty much the entire reason for us going there. We had a small group get together to celebrate a friend’s birthday and we were all very impressed. The space is awesome– casual, but fun and hip. The cocktail menu is off the hook. I haven’t seen so many interesting mixtures, flavor combinations, or weird infusions in a while. I got the Smoke & Mirrors and it was killer. Smokey, spicy, and so unique.
As far as the food, we pretty much all got the burger, but I will say the menu overall was fantastic. There was not a single thing I didn’t want to order. I need to go back to sample a bit more, but I have no doubt everything else will be just as good as that burger. It’s a really fun menu, and heavy on the meat — but you already knew that since the name says it all!
Definitely stop in. You won’t be disappointed.

I had just come out of «An American in Paris» at the Palace at close to 11PM on a Friday night. It was in my mind to try The Spotted Pig because I had heard good things about April Bloomfield’s gastropub skills and naively thought it would be empty enough at that hour for me to get a place at the bar. That type of presumption will forever mark me as a true out-​of-​towner as the place was packed with young hipsters who didn’t look like they were vacating any time soon. The young, scraggly-​bearded host merely glanced around and said I was free to wait an hour if I liked. Did I mention it was midnight?
So I sauntered toward Hudson and found this place most coincidentally named Swine. The journey from pigs to swine didn’t appear to be a long one since the vibe was similar though less crowded. All the loud youngsters were at the bar, while the tables were surprisingly vacant. Since there was no host as I stood there looking more I belonged at Chipotle, I just sat at a table hoping someone would notice. Eventually a young girl came over, and when I asked for a menu, she looked surprised and announced that I only had fifteen minutes to eat since their kitchen closed at midnight.
She got me a menu, and it was definitely the type of grub you would expect at a bar only glammed up a bit with artisan ingredients (photo:
). I started with the $ 7 Deviled Eggs which they prepared picnic-​style with scallions and bacon bits (photo:
). Four halves, and they were tasty overflowing with the creamy mayo-​blended yolk filling, so much so that I needed to use a spoon to eat them all up much to the chagrin of the skinny Asian girl who looked aghast sitting next to me. Just call me Uncle Toshiro, gurrrl. For my main, I decided to go for the $ 19 Bone Marrow & Brisket Burger, which yes, struck me as a bit pricey for a bar burger, but it was decadently delicious.
The marrow was a thick, grisly and tantalizing sauce slathered on the tender patty with luxuriant Tarentaise cheese and caramelized onions. It came with steak fries that were perfectly crisped (photo:
). I was amazed at the quality of the meal at such a late hour, but it is New York after all. Funny thing was that it was the busboy who was very attentive to my service versus the young server who appeared more interested in chatting with the bartender. Regardless, it was a surprising treat to be searching for a pig, discovering a swine instead and finding culinary satisfaction after all.
FOOD — 4 stars… bone marrow was a nice touch to an already decadent burger and the fries were the perfect complement
AMBIANCE — 2.5 stars… loud with drunken youth at midnight, will come much earlier next time
SERVICE — 3 stars… cheers to the busboy, less so to the young female server (show me some respect, gurrrl)
TOTAL — 4 stars… pearls before Swine? Umm, I guess

Vegetarians BEWARE!
Oh oh, you may not be a veggie for too long after the temptations that surround you here!
After trying to get back on the eat all kinds of food, animalistic track, I was having a hard time craving ANYTHING Other than veggies and smoked salmon. Not anymore. Now, I do NOT force myself to eat anything I don’t want. While I wasn’t planning to, let alone dying to, try meat again for the first time in years, I decided to take a bite of the forbidden fruit. In this case, a warm date wrapped in bacon.
Disclaimer: Im Not a Fan of Bacon, At all.
OMG this was delicious. I can’t believe it even now as I type it! haha! The other food was all good too, but I still can’t get over how i actually liked bacon. WILD.
I was too entertained by the conversation so I can’t say I noticed the place much, but Im sure it is cool enough for all you cool people out there ;)

I’ve went to this place for brunch and wasn’t as impressed as when I’ve have had food from here through Caviar, one of the delivery services. This was mostly because of my food choices.
This time, we had:
— the mother clucker — the best part of this is the sauce (mostly sweet and a little savory) but ultimately I felt that the chicken breast was pretty dry and the bread was a little harder than I would’ve liked. The bites with tomato were mostly balanced out.
— the bone marrow and brisket burger — amazing rich marrow taste and tasty burger, though (predictably) on the heavier side. Would get again!

When you see a menu item with a name like «Bone Marrow Brisket Burger» taunted around Unilocal and food blogs alike, you’re obligated to check it out. That’s exactly what I did, and while Swine has a great atmosphere for food and drink alike, I can’t say the burger was anything beyond A-​OK.
Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere?
Apparently Swine puts on a pretty good brunch where the atmosphere really shines, but my late night dinner experience was a good one. My bartender was great, and seemed to be tight with a steam of regulars that continued to come in, and service was fast between drinks and my burger. Things can get a tad bit cramped given the real estate, but there’s enough seating diversity here to accommodate any group short of a massive party. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
My burger price range is pretty well established at this point:
No more than $ 10 for fast food
No more than $ 15 for fast casual
No more than $ 20 for high end (a few exceptions)
Swine’s bone marrow and brisket burger is probably fast casual considering this is more or less bar food versus fine dining, but when you’ve got a specialty patty I tend to classify burgers in with higher end offerings elsewhere. That’s what I did here, so when the tab for my burger came to $ 19 I didn’t put up too much of a fuss. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
I’ve had specialty patties in the past involving bone marrow in particular, and I’m beginning to spot a trend here. Yes, the bone marrow gives the patty a really silky smooth texture without coming across as being too fatty, but the trade off there is that I’ve never had a bone marrow patty that could properly compete on flavor. This was the case here, as my patty, while smooth, didn’t really have any flavor in its own right. Particularly disappointing given the brisket element here as well, which I’d hoped would bring some smokey flavors to the mix, I had to rely on toppings for flavor, which fell short with the exception of a very good chipotle mayo that accompanied the potato wedges. All in all, while I’m a fan of these new age blended patties, I’ve been a tad bit put off by those involving bone marrow just because it doesn’t seem to bring too much to the table. I would have loved to have felt as though the brisket blend came through here within Swine’s Bone Marrow and Brisket patty, but I couldn’t have even told you it was a part of the mix. Pretty standard burger. Single Star Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
Plain and simple — there are better burgers in the neighborhood. No Star Granted.

Swine
NY Manhattan West Village
3pm Sunday 26^th July 2015
Four Stars
After striking out at several other brunch spots, we decided on Swine thinking Brunch was being served. We sat down below and browsed their brunch-​y food menu. However, the waiter politely took back the brunch menus and gave us an abbreviated «Damn I Just Missed Brunch Menu.» They stop serving brunch at 3pm. I had a Wake and Bakon cocktail which combined bacon infused bourbon, Maple Syrup, Stumptown Cold Brew, Cream, and Pecan Bitters. It was quite delicious but not too booze-​y. We split the bacon deviled eggs 4 for $ 7 which were delightfully delicious. I had the sweet chili pork belly with pickled cabbage. It was well braised and not super fatty. The service was good. The price was fine. An enjoyable midday snack.

Get the nachos — they’re not ordinary nachos. They put pork belly (instead of regular bacon) and some fancy cheese on top (probably not as fancy to other people. but I’m used to having American cheese on my nachos). I tell all of my friends to get the nachos when they go here.
I ordered the bone marrow burger — I couldn’t really taste the bone marrow, but the burger overall was still very tasty.
Place gets pretty packed, and it has a pin ball machine in the back! This makes for a great competitive group activity. Losers buy tequila shots!
They have a wide selection of drinks as well. I don’t remember what drinks I got exactly, but I had wine and beer.

So I’ve recently learned that my reviews seem «sanitized» so I’m going to try my best to put some more PERSONALITY in here. Swine is definitely a good guinea pig (no pun intended?) because every item on this menu has PERSONALITY. Really, though. I’ve never had a dining experience quite like this one.
Why is that? Because I’m a health nut. This place is not healthy. Not in the slightest. Don’t go here if you’re on a diet. I mean, the cod is relatively healthy, but who gets the cod at a place called Swine? Did I say it was unhealthy? Should I find a synonym to stop being so redundant? The point is, I’m trying to live a little.
Anyway, I went here on the recommendation of a friend, who essentially told me I should try everything on the menu. I had a very very difficult time deciding what I wanted to eat, because most of this food is way outside my comfort zone (though I’m willing to try absolutely anything — weird combo). I mean, I love a good piece of meat (no innuendo intended), but this takes it to a whole other level. We ordered:
–Pork Belly (sweet chili glaze, spicy pickled cabbage)
–Bone Marrow (w/​french-​style salsa verde and toasted bread)
–Bacon Wrapped Dates
–Brussels Sprouts (w/​bacon)
I feel like my Jewish god is going to smite me for the amount of pig I ate. But I’m really not sorry.
What sums up this meal: FLAVOR. I can’t even go into detail because my tastebuds were so overwhelmed. And my stomach. Of everything we ordered, the bone marrow was hands down my favorite (everything was GREAT though). The salsa verde was generously portioned on top (see: my picture) — it’s a light/​refreshing garnish, so it paired really nicely with an otherwise heavy appetizer. Personally, I needed to eat it with the bread. My friend ate that ish like ice cream, but to me, taking a whopping spoonful just felt like eating mush. Not about that baby food life.
Also, two shoutouts: One to our waitress (chill/​down to earth/​awesome/​cool glasses), one to the cocktail with BACON-​INFUSED wild turkey bourbon. Even their alcohol isn’t Kosher!

If you’re looking for a place to pig out that is far from boar-​ing, then this no hogwash spot in the West Village will certainly do the trick (punny, I know).
We had plans to eat somewhere else nearby but were drawn into Swine by two very magical words: Happy. Hour. This was supposed to be offered solely at the bar, but our server was nice enough to honor happy hour price points at our table. 5 dollar craft beers and wines on tap– party on!
Me and my gals started off by sharing the bacon wrapped dates. The sweet and mushy dates and crispy maple bacon were a culinary match made in heaven. Next up was a cheese plate. We went with the house ricotta, which was nutty, creamy and perfectly offset our other selection, a sharp cheddar. Bacon made it’s appearance again, but this time was in jam form. There was also a sweet cherry spread and some crunchy bread on the cheese board. The bread was a bit sparse for all of the cheese on the plate, so next time I’ll have to ask for more.
Although we were in a paradise of all things pork, I was strangely not craving meat and went with the veggie lasagna for my main. The layered veggies were extremely fresh and came piled high in a deep iron skillet with a light tomato sauce and parmesan blend. I was expecting veggies in between layers of pasta but to my dismay, lasagna noodles were nowhere to be found. A bit of a let down, but I still enjoyed it.
My carnivorous friends went with the Bone Marrow burger (a classic here) and pulled pork sandwich. The sandwich was overstuffed with pork and came with a side of pickles and house made chips.
I’ve heard good things about their brunch and will have to check that out next time. This place is a keeper!